At least once a year, Steve and I visit with some close friends of ours who live near Port Elgin.  They have this amazing piece of land, complete with a little lake, tons of trees and an animal or two that may have wandered over from time to time.  Their place is a little piece of rural paradise.  I love taking walks with them along the gravel roads…their dog running off into the woods…passing neighbors as we go.  It’s so peaceful…so isolated…so different from any life that I’ve ever known.

Steve grew up in the country.  I didn’t .  I’ve been an urban girl my entire life.  Walking to amenities is really all I know.  Even now, living in what we consider to be the “suburbs”…I’m still able to take the kids by stroller to the grocery store, library, gym and of course…Starbucks.  A quick ten kilometer bike ride and we’re downtown in less than forty minutes.  Life is pretty accessible for us and always has been.

But anytime we’re driving home from our friends’ house, we inevitably spend a good few hours talking about how amazing it would be just to buy a place outside of Ottawa and flip our lifestyle entirely upside down.  The temptation eventually passes {usually when I need a 6am coffee run and the Starbucks is only four blocks away!!!} and we quickly remember how much we love our little corner of the world!  It really is such a beautiful place!

What we’ve concluded though, is that most of the rural appeal…is really the people!  Country people are amazing!  They are friendly…they are relaxed…they are always up for anything!  Country people are what the city needs more of!!  And I was reminded of this when I pulled up in the driveway to begin shooting Fallon and Jonathan‘s wedding.  There’s just something in the air…something that says “welcome…make yourself at home!”  And I just love it!

That was essentially the tone for the entire day; a wedding where everyone was family…everyone was welcome…everyone had a part to play.  Despite the ridiculously shivering temperatures, Fallon and Jonathan smiled the entire time.  They laughed…they enjoyed…and they embraced this amazing day that is now known as their wedding day.

And as I drove home much later that day…the thoughts popped into my head again.  Thoughts of packing up our family and starting over rustic style.  But then I remembered…

It’s not more country that I need…it’s more people like Fallon and Jonathan that I need…